Murdoch's Pier Reopens On Galveston: Take That, Ike

Hurricane Ike has just officially become Yet Another Storm That Couldn't Beat Murdoch's Pier.

The historic shop, on a pier stretching out over the Gulf, has had a soft re-opening and is expecting to be fully operational by the end of the month, the Galveston County Daily News reports.

Some of the glitches still to be worked out include phone problems, so we weren't able to reach the owners, but they told the News that the east side of the building, which includes the gift shop, is open.

The state of Texas doesn't permit any new piers to be built, so this is officially a "renovation," we guess, of the place. But seeing as it was all but wiped out by Ike, it's quite the renovation.